Martyrdom of a Saint

The man being tortured might be the Apostle St. James the Less, first Bishop of Jerusalem. According to tradition, the scribes and Pharisees asked that James the Less be thrown from the pinnacle of the temple and then clubbed to death. The frieze of cherub heads across the top of the wall might refer to the temple, known for its effigies of cherubim, while the background figures could represent the scribes and Pharisees. The word MALCO on the green skirt of a tormentor on the right could be an allusion to Malchus, the servant of the high priest of Jerusalem. The inscription continues on the purple skirt of the tormen­tor next to him: GANEL . . . This is a possible reference to Ganelon, the traitor in La Chanson de Roland.

Source: Vignon, Charlotte. The Frick Collection Decorative Arts Handbook. New York: The Frick Collection/Scala, 2015.

Karl Thewalt sale, November 14, 1903, Cologne, Lot 999. J. Pierpont Morgan, London and New York. Duveen. Frick, 1916.

Source: Enamels, Rugs and Silver in The Frick Collection. Volume VIII. New York: The Frick Collection, 1977.